Course Feedback

Feedback from HR Directors

“The Fleet Management Europe team tested the Improved Reading course. All participants improved their effective reading rates and 88% of them said that the course was either ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’. All of them would not hesitate to recommend the course to others.”
Susanne Hentzschel, DaimlerChrysler Services, Stuttgart (Germany)

“The European Patent Office uses the official languages of English, German and French. The majority of files and correspondence are English, so we were interested in an English language course and asked Improved Reading to provide it. The participants were very impressed by the improvements that they achieved. Although it was a challenging course, they very much enjoyed it. In fact, it was so successful that we are planning further courses in the future.”
Volker Schay, Personnel Development, European Patent Office, Munich (Germany)

“All our Improved Reading course participants improved their effective reading skills significantly. Reading speed doubled on average and comprehension increased so that they now save valuable working time while taking in more information faster. Due to the success of the Improved Reading course in Germany, this course runs at other P&G sites in Europe and we are looking forward to a further roll-out.”
Matthias Endres, HR Manager, Procter & Gamble, Schwalbach (Germany)

Feedback from business managers

“I used the techniques yesterday to read two Handelsblatt newspapers from front to back cover. It was fantastic how much information I could assimilate in such a short time and the feeling of flying through the texts was amazing. I can’t thank you enough and I’d like you to know that the course is the best investment I’ve ever made. ”
Florian Kühne

“My girlfriend and I took part in the Improved Reading course last weekend – and it was brilliant! We were both amazed to see how quickly and effectively we could improve our reading rate, even though our eyes were a bit tired on the next day from all that reading 😉 This morning I tried out the techniques we learned and read more articles in half an hour than I’ve ever managed before. It’s fantastic because I have to read all our current publications and there’s a mountain of reading matter on my desk every day. I don’t usually manage to get through it all. The course was also a lot of fun because we were constantly doing things and we had no time to get bored.”
Anne Bilke

Scientific feedback

“I have been conducting research into training concepts for more efficient reading techniques at our society for many years and can confirm that the methods used in the Improved Reading course reflect our latest research findings. Course participants learn skills that by far surpass the reading efficiency attained after conventional advanced reading courses!”
Dr. Karl-Heinz Plochberger, Board Member, Sir Karl Popper Society, Vienna (Austria)

“At the beginning of every semester, I tell my students how important it is to improve their reading skills, even if they have only just started university, so that they’ll be able to cope more effectively with the vast amounts of course literature. My Intercultural Media Studies Research Unit tested the Improved Reading concept and recorded good long-term improvements of participant reading efficiency. That’s why I’m delighted that the Free University of Berlin has been holding courses in both English and German for several semesters now. They’re gaining in popularity all the time.”
Professor Bernd Sösemann, Free University of Berlin,
Centre for Communication History and Intercultural Media Studies, Berlin (Germany)

Participant feedback

“An exercise that we did on the second day was pretty impressive. We were given a 300-page book and had just one hour to read it. We used various reading techniques (previewing, scanning, skimming). It was hard work, but I definitely felt that I’d completely taken in almost the entire content of the book according to the Pareto principle. Before this exercise, I didn’t believe that the 80/20 rule worked.”
Marcel Maschke, Student, in his blog

“I’d like to say a big thank you to Improved Reading! I’m currently researching for my dissertation and I’ve made so much progress with my reading that I’ve actually been able to take a few days’ off… So I’ve genuinely profited from the Improved Reading course!”
Sara Tröster, History undergraduate

“I feel as if the course has sowed the seed of ‘reading confidence’. Before the course I was always completely overwhelmed by the thick books on my shelf. I simply didn’t open them because reading them seemed an impossible task. Now I’m breezing through all the stacks of reading material for my course.”
Susanne Ihlenburg, Medical student

“I can only say that the course has done wonders for me and that it’s one of the best investments I’ve ever made! Best wishes from somebody who notices the post-course improvement every day!”
Florian Mey, Student

“I was the youngest participant on the course, but it still helped me a lot. Now, I’m not daunted by the thought of having to get through stacks of reading in just a few days. Everybody should take this course. You notice the benefits straight away. I don’t understand why schools aren’t introducing courses like this after the G8 reform.”
Lukas Kaesmann, Schoolchild

The merits of Improved Reading are obvious. Firstly, it demonstrates that we are all capable of far more efficient reading skills than those we have learned or are consciously aware of. Secondly, it uses training methods that impart these skills in a very short time. I’m going to try and get my children using these techniques early enough.”
Steven Hondelink, Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt (Germany)

“I have been conducting research into training concepts for more efficient reading techniques at our society for many years and can confirm that the methods used in the Improved Reading course reflect our latest research findings. Course participants learn skills that by far surpass the reading efficiency attained after conventional advanced reading courses!”
Dr. Karl-Heinz Plochberger, Board Member, Sir Karl Popper Society, Vienna (Austria)

“The average effective reading rate achieved was a factor of 3.3 above the initial levels. This proved to all participants the astounding enhancement of their reading capabilities this programme can enable them to achieve.”
Thomas Neufing, Training Co-ordinator, OSCE Headquarters, Vienna (Austria)

“I took the course a while ago and I can now say that my reading habits have definitely changed…”
“… I’m really glad that I’ve been able to integrate many of the techniques that I learned in the course in my reading activities. Recently, I’ve been reading books faster but more thoroughly than I would have done before the course. I’ve also been using skimming and scanning techniques to identify important chapters or passages that I needed to read in depth. I’m putting the things I learned in the course to practical use. It’s great.
Thanks very much!”
Thomas Westermann, Civilian Conscript

Anonymous feedback

“I’ve talked to several participants and they thought the course was fantastic. The trainer kept everyone motivated, gave us all individual help and made us feel comfortable. Everyone attending the course more than doubled their effective reading rate and they’re proud of what they’ve achieved. They’ll be able to apply many of the techniques learned in their day-to-day work.”
Course at Berenberg Bank

“It’s a long time since I’ve attended a course that’s as professional as this one. The trainer was excellent.”
“The course provided some amazing insights into personal reading skills – the fact that the faster you read the better you can concentrate, for instance. The trainer conducted the course very professionally.”
Deutsche Telekom course

“It was a weekend packed with information, exercises and more exercises. It sounds like hard work, but it was actually good fun and very interesting.
At the end of the weekend, you go home exhausted wondering whether you’ll be able to maintain your effective reading rate improvement outside the course environment. I can now tell you that the answer to this question is yes. Two weeks after the course, I’m still chunking and even though it doesn’t seem like I’m reading faster, I’m definitely getting through more material and absorbing just as much information, if not more. I can definitely recommend this course to all civilian conscripts and people from all walks of life.”
L.F., Civilian Conscript from Berlin

“Change is possible.”
“Simple tips and tricks that make a big difference.”
“You can still make some big improvements on a skill that people tend to ‘take for granted.’”
“They show you that faster reading doesn’t have a negative effect on comprehension.”
“Reading faster DOESN’T mean you remember less => Confidence in a higher effective reading rate!!”
“You can achieve fast improvements with simple techniques.”
Deutsche Bank course

“It was an excellent course that kept me focused and concentrated during the ‘lunchtime lull’.”
“A very interesting course, great exercises, opportunities to practice what we’d learned and it was great to see the progress we were making!”
Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen course

“I never expected this kind of an improvement.”
“It motivated me to read texts that I don’t even like. And it was interesting to find out that reading rate and reading efficiency aren’t incompatible.”
Federal Agency for Occupational Safety and Industrial Medicine (BAuA), Dortmund

“It’s always astounding to learn how important these soft skills courses are as a means of structuring and communicating ‘obvious’ knowledge.”
Course at SAP Germany, Walldorf

“The course has a great atmosphere, a targeted concept and modules that build on each other. All of us significantly improved our effective reading rates.”
“The course took place over four months ago but I often catch myself deliberately trying to read at a faster rate so that I can concentrate better and remember more content. I think that the course was very helpful and that follow-up workshops and refresher courses are a great idea.”
P.S., Civilian Conscript from Potsdam-Mittelmark

“The refresher course focused on practical applications at work again. I can definitely recommend a refresher course as a follow-up to the basic course.
WGZ Bank